


The Road Home

by awareslaura



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU, Angst, Fluff, Gen, Injury, M/M, Slight OOC, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 10:44:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12188478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awareslaura/pseuds/awareslaura
Summary: Request No.3: When Negan takes Carl back to Alexandria their van breaks down and the pair are forced to walk home. Carl gets injured on the way and Negan has to carry him home.





	The Road Home

**Author's Note:**

> The final part of my prompt post! I promise I'll stop flooding the tag now. 
> 
> Slightly out of my comfort zone with the fluff (Angst princess here) so I've tagged it as a bit OOC for the character.

The journey had started out so damn well, he'd been enjoyin’ the cool breeze in the air as they drove down the derelict road. Nothin’ but the faint birdsong in the air along with the rumbling of the old engine. He loved drivin’, it took his mind off to another place, even without the shitty radio he could still hear the crackling of AC/DC in his head from before. “Ain’t this nice Carl? Catchin’ a breeze on a goddamn gorgeous day like this?”

Negan caught the sarcasm before the teen even opened his mouth. “Yeah, really it's great.”

Negan rolled his eyes, kids these days, they had no appreciation for life. This one in particular should feel grateful to even be alive considering his men had nearly torn him apart when word got around about his lil’ bullet happy entrance. Fortunately he had them all eatin’ out of his goddamn hand so they actually listened to him when he told them to leave him the fuck alone. Not like that fuckin’ prick Carl called a father, his men had no damn respect for him. Without respect his time would so run out. Carl though… there was potential there, so much damn potential. Negan had nearly offered him a spot at his side, that bloodlust of his would see him far. He would know it made him the man he was today, gave him the power that he possessed.

“Are you gonna check out that rattling or are we just gonna wait until this thing craps out?” Carl snarked at him.

The little shit, there was nothing wrong with the truck, it was an new acquisition and the mechanics had said it ran like a beauty. “It's fine, she’s just makin’ lil noise.”

“Sure it is.”

That fuckin’ sarcasm. “Like you’re some kind of expert? It's fine.” He ground out, ending the discussion. He adamantly ignored the pointed coughs from Carl each time the rattling got louder, more pronounced. There was no fuckin’ way he was pulling over. It'd be a cold day in hell before he admitted that the kid was right.

He glanced over at him when the coughing stopped, God was he actually pouting? Jeez, he'd never thought he'd ever have to deal with a moody teenager ever again but here he was. The kid had no reason to be moody he'd been more than generous with him, giving him food and shelter.

“Would it kill ya to put a smile on your face?” He remarked. If looks could kill then he'd definitely be a dead man after the glare Carl threw at him. Just as he was about to grace the teen with another witty remark the truck gave up, smoke billowed from the bonnet as it stuttered to a stop. God fuckin’ fuckity FUCK, he slammed his hands on the wheel in anger. How the FUCK was he supposed to fix this shit?

“Don't say a fucking word.” He ground out between gritted teeth. The last thing he needed was a damn ‘I told you so’ from him. He wasn't even surprised when Carl ignored him.

“Dooo you know how to fix it?” Carl, unable to resist gloating, asked.

“Do I look like a mechanic to you?”

“I dunno, never met many.”

Of course he hadn't. “I've no fuckin’ idea. We'll go on foot to your shithole, I'll pick up a car there.”

“Isn't it quicker just to go back?” Carl pointed out.

“Oh yeah and give you a sneak peek at all of my defences? No fuckin’ chance.” He wasn’t born yesterday, hell if it wasn’t for the fact that he hadn’t left Negan’s side since he got to the Sanctuary then Negan would’ve been sure that he caused the truck to break down. “We’re gonna go on a nice long walk back to your daddy.”

He rolled his eyes at the annoyed look on Carl’s face. He wasn’t jumpin’ for fuckin’ joy at spending the next couple of days walking with him either but he wasn’t gonna leave him alone to fend for himself. The cool breeze hit him when he jumped out of the truck, it was gonna be a rough night if this weather kept up. He hadn’t bothered bringing anythin’ more than his baby Lucille, and his jacket. As good as they were it wasn’t going to help him stay warm. “You comin’?” He asked, realising that Carl hadn’t budged an inch from his spot.

He moved at Negan’s words. “I need a weapon.”

Was he for real? “What so you can try and kill me again?”

“C’mon there are walkers everywhere, no doubt that noise will have drawn their attention I need to have something to defend myself with unless you wanna carry my dead body back to Alexandria.”

Why the fuck did that thought send an undeniable pang of pain through him? Carl dying was just…un-fuckin-acceptable. He reluctantly drew out the knife he kept tucked away in his belt, the silver catching on the winter sun. “If this comes anywhere fuckin’ near me I’ll do a lot more than make you sing me a pretty song.” Without waiting to see if his threat sank in, he offered him the handle, eyes almost daring him to make a move. Needless to say he was impressed when Carl just took it silently and started walking, at least he had the sense not to do anything stupid again.

He hated the silence, it was so goddamn fuckin’ boring so he whistled, swinging Lucille as they walked along the road. They had two fuckin’ days of this shit at least, there was no way he was spending it in silence. Silence was deadly, too many thoughts crept in that he didn’t want to think about. Just as he was about to start a kick ass rendition of ‘Eye of the Tiger’ Carl snapped at him.

“Do you  _ have _ to keep whistling? You’re gonna bring attention to us.”

“Well excuse fuckin’ me. Here I thought you were enjoyin’ my lil performance. Gotta say I’m hurt Carl.” A mocking hurt look spread across his face, kid wasn’t the only one who could damn well pout.

“I’d rather watch walkers eat my own guts than listen to another damn minute of you whistling.”

Negan ears prickled at the sound of rustling leaves. “That’s aboutta become a possibility Carl.”

As predicted a small group of walkers emerged from the trees to the side of the road, probably drawn in by his lovely whistling, not that he could blame them. He tightened his grip on Lucille, she was practically  _ purring _ , ready to drink up some blood. Without sparing a glance at Carl he threw himself into the mix, bringing his baby down hard on the first walker to stumble near him. Blood spattered over him as he took more of them down, avoiding chattering teeth that tried to nip at his jacket. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of the teen stabbing at the walkers, he was damn well impressive. He moved with an ease that Negan hadn’t seen in awhile, even with just the one eye his accuracy was fuckin’ scary, only requiring one swift move to take out several of the walkers that surrounded them. That was until he got distracted by Negan’s piercing gaze on him, their eyes locking together before he lost his balance as a walker pushed into him from behind. Negan quickly intervened, swinging Lucille around to knock the fucker’s head off. It only took a few more swings to finish off the small group.

Negan rested for a moment, drawing breath back into his lungs. They had to get moving again that noise would surely bring more of them out onto the road. It took him a few minutes to realise that Carl was still on the floor, he looked down at him rubbing at his ankle. “You alright?”

Carl grimaced, trying to put more weight on the joint. “I-I think my ankle’s twisted.”

“Shit.” Now was not the time for them to be stuck like this. “C’mere.” Negan offered his hand out to the fallen teen. Carl shot him a glare before accepting. Jesus this kid was more fuckin’ confusing than all of his wives put together. He supported him around the waist as Carl experimented with putting more weight on it, he tried to step forward but quickly fell harder into his arms. “I guess that’s a fuckin’ no on the whole ‘can you walk?’ question.

“Yeah, looks like.”

“Okay well let’s get this fuckin’ show on the goddamn road.” His arms left Carl’s waist, he shifted to stand in front of him back facing the teen. He offered his arms out behind him as he crouched a little. “Hop on cowboy.”

“What?” The confusion was clear in his voice. 

“Hop on.” He repeated. “You can’t walk and I ain’t leavin’ you here to get eaten so hop on.” He just about turn around and grab him when he heard a sigh before hands gripped his shoulders. He had a moment to brace himself before a light weight jumped on his back. The teen was way too damn skinny, Negan hardly felt him there. Carl wriggled against his back, trying to get comfortable, a brief thought of him wriggling against something else floated through his mind. Where the  _ fuck  _ did that come from? Not that he’d ever been against a bit of guy-on-guy action, he wasn’t one for caring where he stuck his dick as long as it was warm and tight, but he’d never in a million years thought his brain would ever think that about a one-eyed teenager. Then again when that teenager happened to be the son of a certain prick it  _ did _ make it all the more interesting. Not to mention the fact that Carl was a whole new level of interesting on his own, it’d been far too long since someone had gotten under his skin the way that Carl had.

He pondered this in silence, Carl’s soft breath puffed against his ear, the only noise for miles. It was damn fuckin’ boring. Once again he cursed the mechanics, they were definitely in for a date with Lucille when he got back. “So Carl, got anymore juicy stories for ol’ Daddy Negan?”

“Daddy Negan?” Carl deadpanned. “Seriously?”

“What? Not into the whole daddy thing?” Negan teased, no reply came, only the subtle tensing of Carl’s body suggested that he’d even heard him. He couldn’t deny that he enjoyed makin’ the kid uncomfortable, even though he was sure as shit that the boy had seen some dark things he was still as innocent as a lil’ lamb. “Seriously I need somethin’ here kid or I’m gonna go fuckin’ batshit crazy.”

“Huh, I thought that’d already happened?”

“Ha-fuckin’-ha. You mean to tell me you’ve not got anymore stories to tell?”

“None that I wanna share with you.”

Negan huffed, when was he gonna stop thinking of him as a monster? He thought he was gettin’ through to him at the Sanctuary, he thought Carl would understand that he didn’t do anything for  _ fun _ . Sure he enjoyed the occasional kill, it was helluva lotta fun bashin’ people's skulls in but he  _ never _ did it unnecessarily. Even those fuckers of Carl’s group that he killed were because he had to do something. He couldn’t let it go unpunished, the second you do that is when you lose control. Better to kill a few to save many. “Are you ever gonna drop this?” 

“This? You killed my friends, that isn’t a  _ this _ .” Carl practically spat at him as he spoke, venom filled each word. 

“And what about the people you killed huh? What about the two guys you shot down for shits and fuckin’ giggles.”

“I did-”

“Don’t give me a bullshit excuse Carl. Yeah you wanted to kill me but you could’ve done it a hundred different ways. There was no need to kill them like that. At least when I kill people I do it for justice not because of some sick fuckin’ urge for revenge. I don’t get innocent people involved.” 

Carl remained silent, no doubt tryna think up some good reason for the shit that he did. Negan didn’t mean to be so hard on him, hell he didn’t even know why it fuckin’ mattered what Carl thought of him. It just rubbed him the wrong goddamn way. “No answer for that one?”

“Shut up.” Was all Carl said. 

“Touched a nerve there have I?” Negan taunted. 

“Put me down.” Carl wriggled again trying to get away. Negan merely tightened his grip on the one leg he held, holding Lucille against the other. He wasn’t going to let him squirm his way out of this one. 

“No fuckin’ way. There’s no way I’m lettin’ you slow us down because you wanna have a fuckin’ tantrum.”

“Tantrum? I’m not fucking five. Put me down.”

“I damn well  _ know _ your not five, trust me I’ve noticed those big balls of yours against me.”

Carl stopped his wriggling, just huffed out a sigh against the back of Negan’s neck. It sent shivers through him.

“Do you have to talk like that?” Carl asked.

“Like what?” He asked innocuously. 

“Like you’re a seedy uncle.”

Negan barked out a laugh. “Got many seedy uncles do ya?” 

“What do I have to do to get you to shut up?” Carl sighed out. 

“Give me a story and I’ll keep quiet.”

“No.”

“C’mon, tell me somethin’ good. Hell tell me somethin’ bad. Tell me what made you such a fucked up kid, besides the whole shootin’ your mom thing.”

“Anyone ever told you that you’re an extremely tactful person?” More sarcasm littered his voice.

“No not recently. Why?” He teased back. “C’mon, there’s gotta be something in that brain of yours.”

Carl sighed, resigned to the fact that if he wanted a second of peace and quiet he’d have to give something up. So he spoke, told him all about the time at the prison, he figured it was the safest thing to talk about. 

Negan just listened, he made the occasional comment but otherwise remained silent. The kid really had been through a lot, it almost hurt to hear him talk about his mother like that. He wondered how often he’d been able to talk about it with someone. Rick didn’t really seem like the type to talk things out. 

“Happy now?” Carl questioned, having finished up. 

“Always.” Negan replied. “Just in time for bed.”   


“What?”

“Bed, y’know sleep?”

“We’re stopping?”

“Of course, it’s way too dark to keep goin’ I’m not riskin’ us getting lost or caught up with a bunch of walkers.” He walked them over to the side of the road, heading further into the surrounding woods to find a place that would at least give them a bit of shelter for the cool evening wind. “Ready to get down?” He asked him.

He felt Carl nod against his neck, shifting himself to place him gently on the ground. The teen slid to the base of a nearby tree, stretching himself out against it. “Do you have to sit there?” Carl bit out when Negan came to sit next to him.

“Yeah, it’s safer this way.”

“Safer?”

Negan rolled his eyes, why did he have to question every damn thing that he did? “Yeah, this way if a walker comes there’s a chance they’ll get you first so I can get away.”

Carl just huffed, crossing his arms and closing his eyes against him. Negan let him get on with his mood, closing his own eyes as he tried to drift off. He had no luck with that. Every noise had them shooting open, looking around for any walkers that might try something. It had been too long since he’d been sleepin’ out in the rough, he’d taken the safety of the Sanctuary for granted. Just as he felt himself relax a warm weight on his shoulders nearly had him jumping off the floor, Carl’s head had slipped onto his shoulder, clearly he didn’t have the same issues with falling asleep like this. Negan wondered how often he’d had to do this, how many nights he spent under the sky with nothing to protect him from the walkers. Carl shifted again, curling his body up against Negan’s, probably seeking out the warmth, he could feel him shaking slightly against him. Negan rolled his eyes at his own softness but still chose to arrange himself so he could curl his arms around the small frame, offering a small piece of respite against the cold. 

Negan tried to deny the small flutter of affection that filtered through him when the teen cuddle closer, nuzzling against him in his sleep. There was no fuckin’ way that he was getting attached to him, no, absolutely not. He definitely was  _ not _ imagining doing this with him in his big comfy bed back at the Sanctuary. When the fuck had he gotten so soft? When had he allowed Carl to get so damn under his skin? 

Nevertheless he let himself shift closer to Carl, their bodies firm against each other. He had him for the night, that would be enough for now. 


End file.
